Five workouts you can do that will take less than 30 minutes!

Here’s something you probably never thought you’d read from a health and fitness website: Not everyone’s made to go hard in the gym and that’s okay!

We know you’ve been told time and time again that exercise is important (and it really is) because it boasts a vast range of health benefits. Aside from helping you burn off some excess calories, working out lowers your risk of heart diseases and obesity. It also promotes muscle mass growth which can speed up your metabolism, and triggers the release of endorphins to improve your mood and mental state.

But we also know that some of you can’t stand the thought of exercising for an hour each day. Hey, no judgements here! We’re not all built the same. And if you’re one of them, today’s your lucky day because we’ve rounded up five workouts you can enjoy that will take less than 30 minutes. Let’s jump in!

HIIT

For those who are up for a quick and intense sweat session, HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training is perfect for you! It’s an exercise technique where you go all out and give your 110% effort through very quick and intense bursts of exercises, followed by short and active recovery periods.

Many studies show that HIIT results in greater reduction of body fat compared to traditional exercises. A quick work out and more calories burned? Sign us up, please!

Here’s a quick HIIT workout you can do!

Bodyweight Exercises

This exercise is one that everyone needs to be doing! We all need to build muscle mass to speed up our metabolisms, and one way to do that is by doing weight exercises. Get this, the more muscle mass you have, the bigger your resting energy expenditure will be. Meaning, you burn more calories even doing nothing.

If you don’t like the idea of going to gym and lifting weights, or you just don’t have access to dumbbells, you can still gain muscle from bodyweight exercises!

Here’s a quick Bodyweight Circuit exercise you can do!

Yoga

If you’re not the huff and puff type, then Yoga is your best friend! 30 minutes of this exercise every day can boost your strength, balance, and flexibility. Yoga also promotes heart health, helps you manage stress and anxiety, and improves your sleep quality!

Best time for a quick Yoga session is first thing in the morning or before you sleep at night so that they’re no distractions and you’ll have a clear mind.

Running

You can relax, you don’t have to go Usain Bolt on this one! A quick 30 minute running session on the treadmill or outside every single day can already improve your cardiovascular health and burn excess calories.

To spice things up a little, you can also alternate running flat and playing with the incline or going uphill. For best weight loss results, get your heart rate up to 70% of your maximum rate.
To get your max, subtract your age from 220! So go blast some music and get that heart rate up!

Swimming

If you have access to a pool, swimming is a great low-impact exercise that you can do! It helps keep your heart rate up, increase endurance, muscle strength, and improve cardiovascular health. Just 30 minutes of doing laps can burn off 200 calories.

Now, that may not sound like a lot at first but add in your NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) and you’ll be able to lose the extra weight doing an exercise that you actually enjoy!